Google Play Music, YouTube Red to Become One

Google is gearing up to streamline its music services.

As The Verge reports, Google will merge YouTube Red and GooglePlay Music "to create a new streaming offering." Music executive Lyor Cohen, who last year became YouTube's first Global Head of Music, mentioned the change during a panel session at the New Music Seminar conference in New York after being asked why YouTube Red isn't more popular.

"The important thing is combining YouTube Red and Google Play Music, and having one offering," he said, according to the report.

YouTube Red is Google's premium video service, which lets you watch any video you want without ads for $10 a month. The Google Play Music unlimited plan, meanwhile, also offers an ad-free streaming experience for the same price. Subscribing to one of those services gives you access to the other for free.

Google tells PCMag that it's still mulling how it will combine the two products, and will communicate any changes before they happen.

"Music is very important to Google and we're evaluating how to bring together our music offerings to deliver the best possible product for our users, music partners and artists," it said. "Nothing will change for users today and we'll provide plenty of notice before any changes are made."

This news isn't too much of a shocker: Rumors that Google would be combining the services have been swirling since February, when the company brought together the product teams working on YouTube Music and Google Play Music into a single unit.